Pepperdine Holds on to Victory at San Diego

Jan 11, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Pepperdine Waves forwards Stacy Davis (5) and Brendan Lane (21) celebrate after a turnover by the San Diego Toreros during the second half at Jenny Craig Pavillion. Pepperdine won 69-65. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Pepperdine Waves won a tight contest against the San Diego Toreros by a score of 69-65 at Jenny Craig Pavilion on Saturday night.  Stacy Davis led the charge for Pepperdine with 28 points and 10 rebounds.  Jeremy Major added 12 points and 5 assists, and Malcolm Brooks contributed 9 points off the bench.  Brendan Lane, despite needing 10 stitches in the middle of the game, scored 8 points, including 2 key dunks at the end of the game to seal the deal for the Waves.

Dennis Kramer led San Diego with 17 points, while guards Duda Sandaze and Johnny Dee both shot the ball well tonight, scoring 14 and 11 points respectively.  Chris Sarbaugh gave the Toreros a surprising lift off the bench, scoring 12 points.

San Diego led for most of the second half, until Davis led Pepperdine on a run that was capped off by two Brendan Lane dunks to put the Waves up by 1.  Two missed free throws later by Jito Kok, and three free throws by Brooks and Amadi Udenyi, and Pepperdine left San Diego with a 4 point victory.

KEYS TO THE GAME REVISITED

San Diego

X – Get Dee and Anderson to shoot well in the same game: Johnny Dee shot well despite only taking 4 shots (11 points, 3/4 shooting), but Chris Anderson had his 4th awful shooting game in 5 league games.  San Diego is not going to do well if Anderson cannot attract some defensive attention.  It is not an accident that Johnny Dee only attempted 4 shots.  If defense sag off of Anderson, Dee will receive even more attention than he already does

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Pepperdine

✓ – Smooth recovery from either Lane or Brooks: Neither had an outstanding game, but both made clutch plays down the stretch to win this game.  Lane’s two dunks followed by Brooks’ two free throws were able to seal the deal for Pepperdine.  As these two get back to full strength, expect the Waves to be a tough out in league play.

KEY MATCHUP

Stacy Davis vs. Jito Kok: While Kok is known as a good defender and shot blocker, he is not as strong as Davis and it showed.  While Kok had 7  points (1/6 free throws) and 2 blocks, Davis had arguably his best game of the season with 28 points and 10 rebounds.  The Toreros had no answer for him.

MOVING FORWARD

Pepperdine got a crucial road victory in the West Coast Conference and they are now 4-2 in league play.  Their next test will be slightly tougher, however, as they face the conference-leading Gonzaga Bulldogs at home.

For San Diego, another tough loss.  The Toreros travel to play at Santa Clara on Thursday night in a matchup of two teams with very strong backcourts.